Following the Opponent Around

Following the opponent around implies a style of play, of being content to finish each local fight in gote - so that the opponent has considerable choice of where to play and when to fix up weak points.

It is not a matter of chance whether a sequence ends in sente or gote. There has always to be a good reason for ending in gote. Imagining that your opponent has some threat you haven't yet figured out isn't a good enough reason.

If you always play for the maximum in each position, though, the same thing can happen for the opposite reason - you are stretching too far. It is much better not to be over-ambitious. As the proverb says: beware of going back to patch up.

See also:

• sente and gote
• miai
• tedomari
• tenuki is always an option.
• One Two Three.